Manuel Pellegrini has spoken of his pride after his team set a new club record of ten straight wins.

And the Chilean revealed that, in the run-up to Saturday’s game, he did not want to talk about the possibility of breaking the 103-year-old mark for fear of distracting his players from the task in hand.

The 2-0 win over Watford was their tenth consecutive victory since losing the Manchester derby at Old Trafford in April.

That surpassed the nine on the bounce begun by Harry Newbould who won the last four games of 1911-12, and completed by Ernest Mangnall with five wins to begin the following season.

Ernest Mangnall - last City manager to hold the record

Pellegrini and his players had dismissed the record as irrelevant before the game, but afterwards he was more expansive.

“I am very proud because in 104 years no-one else could do it,” said the Engineer. “But I don’t like to talk about these things, especially before the game.

“When you are thinking that if you win you will break the record, or be on top of the table, you normally don’t play well.